1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to undergarments and in particular to a concealing undergarment allowing a wearer to wear modern and popular clothing with comfort, confidence, and modesty.
2. Related Art
A current style trend in women's fashion is low-rise jeans and pants. This influence is seen throughout female fashions ranging in age from 13 to 50. Women in these age ranges are wearing tight, low-cut, figure-hugging jeans, pants, and other bottoms. The low-cut trend started in the mid 1990's and waist lines have since progressively edged lower exposing the abdominal area, lower back, and sides. As this trend has progressed, it has become less likely for women's tops to cover these areas.
Low-cut bottoms present another problem in that they tend to cause or exacerbate the appearance of a bulge, also known as “love handles”, at the waistline. Love handles materialize on even the thinnest of women because the waistline of pants, jeans, or other bottoms surround a woman's body at its fleshiest point—just below the hips, at the buttocks. The appearance of love handles is widely considered unflattering. In addition the skin in this area may also exhibit imperfections.
Women who want to be stylish are thus inconvenienced, sacrificing comfort and modesty for the sake of style. In addition, women must either reject the style or accept flaunting their perceived imperfections. This may also cause mental anxiety. In the case of jeans for example, this can be a difficult choice given that jeans are a mainstream classic style that is accepted from casual to dressy occasions. To illustrate, in 2007, the Alexander Report stated that American consumers purchase approximately 450 million pairs of jeans per year and that denim was a 10 billion dollar industry in the U.S. Though consumers have generally become more price-conscious, fit and style still drive jeans and other apparel purchases more than any other factor.
From the discussion that follows, it will become apparent that the present invention addresses the deficiencies associated with the prior art while providing numerous additional advantages and benefits not contemplated or possible with prior art constructions.